Business Commons^™

How To Make Unethical Decisions, Andrew Sikula Sr., John Sikula

Management Faculty Research

People make decisions and solve problems in a variety of ways. Oftentimes, little if any thought goes into choice selection. Sometimes, even very important decisions are made without serious contemplation of potential alternatives and their consequences. Many different tools/techniques and rationales are utilized in problem solving and decision making with little or no regard to ethical judgment and/ or aftermaths. Some ways of making choices are worse than others when using pity parameters. This article discusses commonly used but ethically unsound methods of making selections. Later in the writing, appropriate standards and benchmarks for determining ethical action will be presented.

Building A Non-Profit Organization: Project Venue, Alanna K. Green

Senior Honors Projects

When I talk with people about myself and what I study here at The University of Rhode Island, most people look at me with a confused yet intrigued face. For many people my study of both Marketing and Philosophy is a strange dichotomy, for me; however, it is the perfect combination. When I infuse these fields of study with my passion for the arts, it was easy to see the path for my Senior Honors project. In doing this project I am combining my practical business skills, my need to make a difference and my interest in the arts to …

More Evidence On The Value Of Chinese Workers’ Psychological Capital: A Potentially Unlimited Competitive Resource?, Fred Luthans, James Avey, Rachel Clapp-Smith, Weixing Li

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

As China continues its unprecedented economic growth and emergence as a world power, new solutions must be forthcoming to meet the accompanying challenges. We propose a positive approach to Chinese HRM that recognizes, develops and manages the psychological capital (PsyCap) of workers. After providing a brief overview of hope, efficacy, optimism, resilience and overall PsyCap in today’s Chinese context, the results of a follow-up study provide further evidence that the PsyCap of Chinese workers is related to their performance. The implications that this evidencebased value of Chinese workers’ psychological capital has for China now and into the future concludes this …

France, Italy, And Spain: Culturally Similar Nations, Yet Drastically Different In Their Roles As European Union Nations, Laura Hettinger

Honors Scholar Theses

Since France, Italy and Spain are neighboring Western European countries, whose languages and cultures have descended from Latin, it is inevitable that these countries share similarities on many levels. France, Italy and Spain share similar lifestyles, religious values and cultural heritages. Throughout history France, Italy and Spain have experienced many of the same historical events because of their geographical proximity. Now that all three countries are members of the European Union they have become further united by occupying a common area without border controls, and sharing a common market, laws, and currency.

While France, Italy and Spain share many commonalities, …

Investor Views Of Financial Reporting: Recent Evidence Of The Expectation Gap, Chester H. Brearey

Student Scholarship

Calls for the reformation of financial reporting have exacerbated in recent years in light of a rapidly changing global investment climate and in the wake of financial crises such as Enron. This study explores the existing model of financial reporting, and the characteristics that are identified with investor confidence, and whether they meet their primary objective: providing information that helps users to make resource allocation decisions. The study examines current literature and conducts interviews to determine the types of information that users find relevant. The evidence suggest that the current financial reporting system is overly complex; that there is lack …

A Study Of Craft Worker Length Of Employment At Select Missouri Construction Companies, Richard D. Bruce

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Craft worker retention is a constant concern of construction firms who selfperform portions of projects. These companies must maintain an understanding oftheir work force. A methodology is presented in this study for studying information in readily available employee databases to gain such an understanding. Using a sample of 10 of Missouri's 17 largest contractors, that employ 5,277 craft workers; this study examined the employee databases to identify differences in mean length of employment based on hire age, craft, union affiliation, and company size. The analysis of variance statistical technique was utilized to test four null hypotheses. Based on the test …

The Impact Of Product Stigma On Consumer Behavior: The Effects Of Self Concept And Attitudes, Al Darwan

Student Scholarship

Qualitative research is proposed to study the derivation and effect of stigma in the marketing domain where it has been observed as an underexposed theoretical construct. The study seeks to build on previous research in the social domain by considering how product stigma derives and if it can be characterized similarly in the marketplace. The study is designed to discover, for example, if consumers, in their responses to product stigma, engage in the same stigma development processes that sociologists and psychologists have described operate in social situations. And we are motivated to shed light on how and to what extent …

Decision Making In Complex Environments: The Role Of The Pathfinder Leader, Bruce C. Gockerman

Student Scholarship

In a world of increasingly complex environments decision making processes become ever more important. This research examines the role of the pathfinder leader in a specific collective action of a complex galaxy of actors seeking to develop an enforceable water resources regime and extends that examination to a more general population engaged in complex civic collective actions within the context of municipal governance. This work extends emergent leadership research within governance structures, with implications for research and practice. The research also develops quantitative measures for collective action costs, benefits and outcomes.

Encouraging Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Role Of University/College Environments And Experiences, Rosemary Kamau-Maina

Student Scholarship

The importance of entrepreneurship to economic development is widely debated and acknowledged. With rising unemployment and growing disenchantment with corporate employment, more policy makers and scholars are turning to entrepreneurship and self employment as a solution to youth unemployment. College experiences and learning have the potential to change attitudes, beliefs and focus not only in a student's general life outcomes but also in career orientation. Colleges therefore provide a window of opportunity for creating positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship and influencing students' entrepreneurial self efficacy making careers in entrepreneurship more feasible and desirable. The manner in which these factors inter-relate is …

From Conversation To Learning To Performance: Understanding Great Strategic Conversations, Ann Kowal Smith

Student Scholarship

To develop, maintain and retain competitive advantage, organizations must learn new skills and adapt to rapidly changing environments. My research is focused on the means by which individuals come together to learn from each other, and to collectively advance the objectives of the organization in a fast-paced, changing environment. In particular, I am interested in the power of the conversation and the conversation space as tools to facilitate this learning, to permit individuals to share their own experiences, build on the experiences of others and catalyze innovation. Increasingly, people are called to together to innovate, to solve thorny problems and …

High Tech Entrepreneurial Activity: What Really Matters?, Randall I. Bambrough

Student Scholarship

This study was designed to investigate what potential factors affect high-technology entrepreneurial activity (HTEA) on a regional basis. The fifty largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States in 2005 were examined. The total population covered by these MSAs was 156.1 million of a total United States population of 288.4 million or 54 percent of the entire country. The study is operationalized as a multivariate regression where the dependent variable of HTEA is measured as the per capita amount of high-tech jobs in the region. There are four major independent variables analyzed in the study: financial capital, human capital, …

Learning Style Influence On Relationship Sales Success, Betty A. Moon

Student Scholarship

This research seeks to explore the use of Kolb's experiential learning theory as a framework for understanding salesperson success in relationship selling. Augmenting previous research, we investigate the influence of advisor learning styles and advisor adaptive flexibility on sales performance. Building on David Kolb's (Kolb, 1976, 1977, 1985) and Richard Boyatzis' (Boyatzis & Kolb, 1993) previous experiential learning research, we selected the Learning Style Inventory and Adaptive Style Inventory as the instruments to gather this data. The results of this research suggest that relationship sales success is influenced by flexibility, regardless of learning style preference.

Promises To Keep: Exploring The Impact Of Procedural Equity On The Restoration Of Trust In Stakeholder-Firm Relationships, Rachel Y. Daniel

Student Scholarship

In November of 2001, Wall Street and Main Street were rocked as Enron filed for bankruptcy protection. This was followed by financial and ethical implosions at Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, and more recently, Bear Sterns. Today, increased stakeholder distrust is routine. This paper presents a grounded theory research agenda to examine the impact of procedural equity on the restoration of trust with primary stakeholders. Given different levels of trust, the exit, voice, loyalty and neglect (EVLN) typology is used as a framework to understand stakeholder options in the face of distrust. Despite the growing body of literature devoted to …

Sustaining Non-Profit Collaboration: The Relationship Between Governance And Leadership, Nonie Brennan

Student Scholarship

More and more, not-for-profit health and human service organizations are turning to collaboration to address serious community problems. Understanding the role of governance and leadership within a collaborative structure is critical. This research proposal focuses on governance and leadership within interorganizational collaboration addressing health and human service issues. We propose an examination of three collaborations sharing the same lead agency. The intention is to explore the governance structure and the elements of leadership that provide the infrastructure and lay the ground work for a sustained collaboration. The research question is: How do governance structures and leadership practices facilitate sustained collaboration …

Breakthroughs: Examining The Conditions In Which Highly Regulated Government Funded Programs Generate Innovative Practices, Marilyn Ayenew Hosea

Student Scholarship

In the study of government-nonprofit power relationships, influence, authority, and accountability are often thought to be the purview of government and the burden of nonprofit service providers. A concern during this era of scarce financial resources and tight regulatory oversight is that the acceptance of public funds will impede the nonprofit's ability to implement local innovations that build upon and support the expectations of a variety of key stakeholders (governing boards, service consumers, the public-at-large, and government/private funders). This paper examines the conditions under which federally funded nonprofit organizations exercise autonomy by pursuing ventures that resist conforming influences of government …

2008-05-01 Pac Revision, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

PAc27 revision approved by the Faculty Senate on May 1, 2008.

Strategically Managing Resources And Revenue, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The author reflects on the use of strategic management in the success of the United States Postal Service. She states that the U.S. Postal Service has used the breakthrough productivity scheme to reduce mail-processing costs and address retail locations and bulk-mail areas. She believes that the service is committed in gaining sustained success through the scheme and in serving its customers effectively.

Perceptions Of Emotional Intelligence Preparation And Industry Expectations For Utah State University Mba Graduates, Arthur D. Waller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study sought to determine whether an MBA degree from Utah State University (USU) was meeting the emotional intelligence (EI) needs of the workplace from the perception of its graduates. This research assessed perception of EI skills with a researcher-designed instrument that consisted of a 22-question survey that was e-mailed to USU students who completed an MBA between 2000 and 2006. The survey questionnaire given to MBA graduates was titled Assessment of Emotional Intelligence and was divided into three distinct parts. The first category (questions 1-10) had to do with industry expectations as perceived by MBA graduates. The second category …

2008-05-01 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes for May 1, 2008.

Breakthroughs: Examining The Conditions In Which Highly Regulated Government Funded Programs Generate Innovative Practices, Marilyn Ayenew Hosea

Student Scholarship

In the study of government-nonprofit power relationships, influence, authority, and accountability are often thought to be the purview of government and the burden of nonprofit service providers. A concern during this era of scarce financial resources and tight regulatory oversight is that the acceptance of public funds will impede the nonprofit's ability to implement local innovations that build upon and support the expectations of a variety of key stakeholders (governing boards, service consumers, the public-at-large, and government/private funders). This paper examines the conditions under which federally funded nonprofit organizations exercise autonomy by pursuing ventures that resist conforming influences of government …

How Family Firm Members Understand Success And Its Influence On The Family Firm, John E. Neff

Student Scholarship

Family owned businesses are a significant and important component of our economic landscape. However, to date, a full understanding of family firm members' perception of success and the implications for ultimate firm performance has not been articulated. Investigations into family business goals and notions of success have not utilized a multi-stakeholder approach. An improved understanding of how family firm members understand success may provide the basis for evaluating ultimate firm performance from the perspective of family firm stakeholders. Using systems theory as an organizing framework this research proposal seeks to explore how family firm members understand and work to achieve …

Cleaner Technologies And Competitiveness: Evidence From The Pulp And Paper Industry In Nigeria, Joseph Akinkugbe Adelegan

Student Scholarship

The instrument for industrial pollution control in Nigeria is the “command and control” approach. It specifies the adoption of technology for a firm’s compliance with statutory permissible levels of wastewater effluent parameters. However\, the industrial pollution laws are poorly enforced. Previous studies indicate there has been some adoption of cleaner technologies by some industries. However\, it is uncertain whether the driver of the eco-innovation is the environmental policy or whether other factors are involved. The pulp and paper industry is a sector in which environmental developments will significantly affect future economic performance. This sector depends on forest resources and recycled …

Computer Assisted Surgery: A Study In Technology Discontinuance, Jonathan B. Brewster

Student Scholarship

Computer assisted surgery has not been overwhelmingly adopted by surgeons even after extensive formal training in the technique. Physician technology adoption behavior is not well understood, particularly technology that changes clinical practice. Within technology adoption research there are limited studies in discontinuance. The traditional research states that discontinuers tend to be less educated and of a lower socio-economic status. This is clearly not the case with surgeons who experiment with but subsequently discontinue using computer assisted surgery. This paper is a proposal to research this discontinuance phenomenon.

Lack Of Data Never Prevented Us From Making Decisions: An Anatomy Of Resource-Allocation Decisions In The Durable Consumer Goods Industry, Martin Zummersch

Student Scholarship

Why do some work teams make more efficient resource-allocation decisions than others? Why are some organizations considered more innovative than others? These were the questions that led us to investigate decision-making processes in organizations of the durable consumer goods industry. This paper will test our theory that information-processing capabilities, information sharing through appropriate communication channels, combined with inclusive decision-making processes will create what we have called alignment or congruence in decision making, allowing organizations to make more effective and efficient resource-allocation decisions in innovation. Using data from our quantitative-research study conducted within a holding company in the Midwest, we created …

The Effect Of Leader Attitude On Traditional Vs. Social Entrepreneurial Nonprofit Business Models, J. Martin Ireta

Student Scholarship

The research proposed will examine the differences and similarities between the mindsets of people who lead nonprofit Social Entrepreneurial Enterprises (SEEs) and those who manage traditional non-for-profit organizations (NFPs) in Mexico. In particular, the study will seek to identify the extent to which risk orientation, opportunity recognition, selfefficacy, innovativeness, and social capital influence social entrepreneurial behavior. By comparing these two types of leadership roles, we can further our understanding of how some social leaders in Mexico, despite diminishing traditional revenue streams, are able to scale up and sustain their nonprofit organizations.

2008-05-01 Pg55 Revision, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

PG55 revision approved by the Faculty Senate on May 1, 2008.

The Stewardship Academy: Fostering Tomorrow's Stewards A Nonprofit Business Plan For Community Stewardship, Cody Nelson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduate requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

2008-04-17 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes for April 17, 2008.

2008-04-17 Student Government Association Resolution, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Student Government Association Resolution submitted to the Faculty Senate on April 17, 2008.

2008-04-03 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes for April 3, 2008.